5 hilarious predictions for the rest of the summer transfer window
The exponential growth of finance in football has been evident again this summer transfer window. Whilst Manchester United spent in excess of £75 million to lure Romelu Lukaku to Old Trafford, Manchester City have become the first ever Premier League outfit to spend more than £200 million in a single transfer window, the majority of which was invested in their defence.
Such scattergun spending has unfolded before August has begun and there is no sign of it slowing down either. The likes of Phillippe Coutinho, Neymar and even Cristiano Ronaldo have been heavily linked to world-record breaking transfers away from their respective clubs and it seems very few deals have the ability to shock the football community nowadays. That said, it is still possible to encounter a handful of farcical transfer rumours which simply extend beyond the realms of reality and logic.
Here I have compiled a shortlist of five rumours in particular which border on the hilarious and ridiculous…
#1 Robert Lewandowski to Manchester City
It is no secret that Pep Guardiola is in the market for another blockbuster forward to compliment Manchester City’s catalogue of defensive acquisitions this summer. Both Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfried Bony are being heavily linked with moves away from the Etihad and with money evidently no issue for the Citizens, they are likely to bring in reinforcements.
Tucked behind far bigger rumours this window, it has been suggested that the former Premier League champions are eyeing a £64 million move for Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.
Not only is such a price tag incredibly unlikely to persuade Bayern anyway, but the club has also remained adamant this summer that the Pole is, quite simply, not for sale.
In June this year, speculation linking City’s rivals Chelsea and Manchester United with Lewandowski were met with great anger by the Bayern contingent, with the club later threatening to go to FIFA if clubs underhandedly approached their key frontman.
It was only in December 2016 that Lewandowski put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension with the German champions, keeping him at the club until 2021. There’s neither incentive therefore for Bayern to sell or for Lewandowski to find newer pastures.